Starlight
by st.jimmy.987
Summary: He had no memory, no recollection of what happened to him. All he knew was that he woke alone...and that the strange flashes that started to reoccur scared him. Pairings later in the story
1. Prolouge

He sat up, wincing, ignoring the pain in his arms and legs and sides-looked around and stared in shock at the destruction around him. Buildings were destroyed, burning, people were wandering around, crying and yelling and searching among the fallen buildings.

He stared in horror.

Standing up was painful, and he could barely stand for long before he fell back again. Nonetheless, he stood up and forced himself to remain standing. He forced himself to walk, stumbling a little before managing to walk semi-properly.

He couldn't help but notice that among the people searching, no one was searching for him.

Pushing that thought out of his mind, he saw everything go fuzzy before a hand was thrust into his face. Blinking slowly before glancing up, his eyes met blood red ones. A slightly taller child stood in front of him.

His first coherant thought in all this mess was the fact that his brother had come to save him.

"There you are, West." The child said simply, relief in his red eyes. "I've been looking for you." The smaller boy opened his mouth, but was silenced when a slightly bigger hand grabbed his and his big brother shook his head slightly. "Don't worry about anything right now, Ludwig." The taller said seriously. "Big brother Gilbert will take care of everything for you."

The last thing he felt before the enveloping darkness was the bleeding but strong arms of his big brother wrapping around him as he fell forward.

* * *

He woke with a start and looked around. Next to him, there was a soothing hand on his arm. When he turned to see who it was, he relaxed when he saw Gilbert.

"It's ok, now, West." Gilbert promised. Blinking slowly, he looked around to find himself in a shelter, or the remenants of a large building. Lights were flickering, and he could see a large table that was pushed to the far right wall, underneath a line of flags. Frowning, Ludwig noted that the room they were in seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place why. Makeshift beds were set up, all along the room, and a majority of them were empty.

A tall feminine-looking male was balancing two kids in his arms while a third one climbed on his back.

Two blondes, one with green eyes and one with blue, each had a twin in their arms, comforting them.

A brown-haired boy with glasses held a softly cooing child while a smaller girl smiled at the baby.

Next to them, a black haired boy with green eyes was singing something in an unfamiliar tongue to a screaming child that looked like the one with the girl.

A tall girl, shaking lightly, was saying comforting words to a small boy holding a scarf around his neck as a smaller girl hung onto his arm.

Ludwig blinked and turned back to Gilbert.

"Where are we?" He asked softly. "Who are they?"

"We're safe." Gilbert assured him. Hesitating slightly, Gilbert gestured to the others. "The girly one is Yao, the one singing is Antonio, I'm not sure who the chick is, but the blondes are Francis and Arthur, and that kinda-sorta-maybe-couple there is Roderich and Elizabeta."

"Kinda-sorta-maybe-couple?" Ludwig questioned. Gilbert shrugged.

"She says they're married, but he insists that they broke up." Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Don't ask either of them about it, because all they do is argue, it's crazy."

"What about the younger ones? Who are they?" Ludwig asked. Gilbert shrugged again.

"Don't know and don't care." Red eyes locked on blue. "At the moment, my main focus is you, Ludwig. I'll worry about them when I know you're fine."

After glancing around for a few more seconds, Ludwig nodded firmly, falling back to sleep under the watchful, protective stare of his brother.


	2. Chapter 1

He learns interesting things about them. First and foremost, the almost inhumanly healing abilities.

It was only three weeks since Ludwig woke up in the ruined city, but all of them were healed, even the little boy with the scarf that had a broken wrist and the male Gilbert called Francis had a (few) broken rib(s).

Being the only one in charge, though, made Ludwig wish for his brother's help.

*Flashback*

"Where are you going?" Ludwig asked, holding onto Gilbert's sleeve. Next to him, Elizabeta was trying to kiss Roderich goodbye ('we're married, it's only proper that we-' 'we aren't married, you crazy child, get that through your thick skull!'). Yao nodded solemnly at the children that had been with him, and Arthur tried to push Francis away from him (Ludwig learned very quickly that Francis went after anything with a pulse, male or female).

"We'll be right back, Ludwig." Gilbert promised. Next to him, Roderich finally managed to get Elizabeta off of him.

"Oui, we are going to fight the bad guys and save beautiful-" Francis' monolouge was cut off by Arthur's punch to his face.

"Don't put stupid ideas in an impressionable child's mind, you idiot!" Arthur roared. Ludwig's eyes went wide.

"I wanna help!" He told Gilbert excitedly. Gilbert sighed, rolling his eyes exasperatedly at Francis.

"You can't, Ludwig." Gilbert said, trying to smile for his younger brother. Ludwig whined.

"Why?"

"He is one of the oldest children here, oui?" Francis asked. "Ah, I mean, besides your Kiku, Yao." Yao nodded stiffly at Francis.

"That's right!" Gilbert leaned towards Ludwig. "All of the older kids are leaving, Ludwig. We need someone we can trust to keep the other little ones safe."

"You'll come back, right, Bruder?" Ludwig asked unsurely. Gilbert paused, staring at him, before nodding.

"As soon as possible, kleinen Bruder." Gilbert promised.

"Ok." Ludwig nodded.

"Yao." A quiet voice called. All eyes turned to see Kiku standing on a chair, his brother and sister gathered around him. "Come back safe." Yao nodded once, and they were all off.

*End*

Ludwig glanced around for the millionth time. A sniffle was heard from around his waist and there was a tug on his sleeve. Glancing down, he looked into soft brown eyes.

"I'm coming." He told the smaller boy, following him to a different part of the room.

* * *

Out of all the children, Ludwig was the oldest (aside from Kiku, but Kiku rarely spoke in a language Ludwig understood). He figured, based on the other children, that he was about seven or eight.

That would make Gilbert at least ten or eleven, Ludwig mused. As he thought about it, there was a tugging on his sleeve. He glanced down at the boy tugging his arms and rethought his theory.

This child, the one that had decided to stick to Ludwig like glue, was getting bigger and bigger as each day passed. Literally, the child that had barely been able to walk was suddenly only a few inches shorter than himself. It stumped Ludwig, but he figured that Gilbert would explain it when he got back.

"Ve~~~..." Ludwig stared at him-that was the first sound he ever heard him make.

"Hello?" The boy smiled.

"Hug...hug...hug..." Ludwig watched with a raised eyebrow as he tried to reach him, but he couldn't. With a slight sigh, Ludwig leaned down.

A sudden image of a similar scene, only with the boy in front of him much, much older, came to mind.

Nonetheless, he kissed the boy's cheeks softly.

"Yay!" The boy cheered, smiling happily and running off to play. Ludwig watched him, frowning.

What was that? He wondered.

* * *

Ludwig sighed, rubbing his temples. On his left, Kiku looked slightly amused by the sudden turn of events.

None of the kids would shut up.

One of them, the small boy who wanted a hug, was sitting on his right, alternately chattering up a one-sided conversation with him ('My name is Feliciano-or is it Veneziano?-anyway, I like pasta and art and-') and trying to prevent a fight ('Veeee~, Lovino, don't be so mean to Ludwig...') that his older brother kept trying to start ('Shut up, dammit! Don't call me Lovino! My name's Romano! ...right?').

A few feet away from them, a short blonde named Alfred had his arms crossed, glaring at a taller boy, who's name was Ivan, with a scarf. Next to the boy, a young girl stood, Ivan's little sister Natalia.

"Look, I'm the hero, so what I say goes!"

"But what about-"

"No! I'm the hero. So-"

"How dare you interrupt big brother?" The girl snarled. The blonde blanched, takig a few steps back.

A few feet from them, a black haired boy was reading-

"HONG KONG!" A smaller girl shrieked (making Ludwig wince-and he was across the ROOM). The boy ignored her. "Hong Kong, look at me!" He continued to ignore her. "Hong Kong?" When he ignored her still, she burst into tears, burying her face in her hands.

"Kiku, those are your siblings!" Ludwig cried. "Get them to settle down, please!" Kiku looked at them, a blank look in his eye.

"Hong Kong." He said softly. Ludwig winced-no way would the boy hear it all the way across the room with all the screaming and crying going on.

To his surprise, the boy looked up from his book.

"Kiku." He replied just as softly.

"と、自分の振る舞いをあなたの妹を無視しないでください.(behave yourself, and do not ignore your little sister.)" Kiku said sternly. Hong Kong rolled his eyes but turned to the sobbing girl beside him.

Ludwig sighed. If only the other kids were dealt with as easily.

A loud war cry broke him from his thoughts and he jumped up.

"Natalia! Do not attack Alfred! Natalia! NATALIA! IVAN, CONTROL YOUR SISTER!"


	3. Chapter 2

It started, as always, as soon as Ludwig fell asleep.

_He was wandering around, trees all around him, looking for something._

For**someone**.

Instead, he finds...a random box of tomatoes. In the middle of the forest. He can feel himself say something, but he can't hear what and before he knows it, he's trying to get the box open.

He can't.

"Don't open the box!" A voice cries out in protest. "I'm a tomato fairy, that's all! Don't open the box!"

He ignored it, determined as all hell to get the box open. After a few seconds of struggling, he managed to get it off, and a tall boy pops out.

"I'm sorry!" He cries. "I lied! I'm not a tomato fairy! Please don't hurt me!"

Before Ludwig can respond, the scene changes.

He's yelling something, but he cant hear what, and in front of him, saluting, is the small boy and another, an Asian like Kiku. The brunett boy answers, saying something about running away, but it's muffled and Ludwig can barely hear it. It's when he responds in the negative (the only clue to that is the brunett's slightly disappointed expression as they turn to the other) that Ludwig realizes he asked something. The Asian speaks.

"The answer, of course, is no." He says firmly, the only thing coming clearly. Ludwig shakes his head, thinking of how Japan's tactic will buy time, but ultimately fail in the long run.

The scene changes again, before he can say anything else.

He wakes up slowly, but is alert instantly. Mumbling something to himself, though he can't hear what, he freezes and turns around.

There, in his bed, curled up and muttering a 'Ve~~~' sleepily, is the smaller boy, the so-called tomato fairy. Almost afraid, but unsure why, Ludwig reaches up to pull the blankets off of the boy, shouting orders-

Only to freeze again when he notices the boy's...lack of dress.

Ludwig finally hears himself speak, though it's only one word.

**"ITALIA!"**

He jumps up, startled by the sound of his voice in the dream. He wonders, briefly, who _Italia_ is, who _Japan_ is, why they look like little Feliciano (who isn't so little anymore) and straight-faced Kiku, and why they has such strange names.

Beside him, a pair of blue eyes blink sleepily at him while another glare fiercly.

Ludwig motions for the twin boys, Matthew and Alfred, to go back to sleep. When they settle down, Ludwig tries and fails to do the same, eyes continually slipping towards where Feliciano and Lovino were sleeping, and where Kiku slept with his brother and sister.

Just what were these random dreams?

* * *

Ludwig had his hand against his forehead, trying to fend off the headache he could feel coming.

Alfred, who had grown to the same size as him, was glaring at Ivan, who was slightly taller than Ludwig. Ivan glared back, eyes bright, and Natalia hovered behind them, hand on Ivan's arm for support.

"Can we please settle this calmly?" Ludwig asked, annoyed. Ivan turned to face Alfred fully, a big, cheerful, childish smile on his face as he agreed with Ludwig, the smile that was countered by his narrowed eyes and dark aura.

Ludwig had the sudden image, despite his alert state, of a bright room, Alfred with his hands on a table (the dark table that was pushed against the wall), glaring ferociously across it at Ivan, who had a cold smile.

Just like with Feliciano, the image was fleeting, and Ludwig returned to the present by a loud cry.

"Oi, West!" Ludwig turned in surprise-did they really come back after a few weeks? "Looks like these grew, too!"

"Eh? Ah, wel-where is everyone else?" Ludwig frowned. Surely Roderich at least wouldn't allow his older brother's wandering off...

Would he?

"Who knows, who cares." Ah, so they didn't know Gilbert was gone. Ludwig shook his head, suddenly noticing the small girl Gilbert had following him. He breathed a sigh of relief-Natalia could use a friend. Especially one like this girl, who was wearing a bright pink skirt and had a pink butterfly clip in her shoulder-length blonde hair.

Something tugged in his mind about this girl, but he ignored it in favor of looking at his brother.

"Ah, who..." He started, but before he finished, Gilbert cut him off.

"Feliks, and he's one strange kid."

"Like, no stranger than you." The girl retorted. It took a few seconds to register in Ludwig's head, and he blinked.

"He...?" He repeated faintly. So...so this wasn't a girl? When the small blonde nodded, Ludwig closes his eyes.

"Got a problem?" Feliks asked. Ludwig shook his head negatively, glancing at Gilbert.

A loud cry rang out, making Ludwig sigh.

"Luuuuuudwiiiiiiiiiig!" Feliciano wailed, running full-speed towards them, tears pouring down his face. "Saaaaaaaaaaave meeeeeeeeeeeee!"

"What now, Feliciano?" Ludwig sighed, turning to catch the crying boy as he barreled into him.

"I-I-I-It's I-I-I-I-Ivan." Feliciano sobbed, shaking and stuttering in his fear. Feliks' eyes narrowed.

"Ivan..." Without anything else said, he stomped in the direction that Feliciano came from. Lidwig sighed again as Gilbert stared after Feliks, confused by the sudden hostility.

A loud SLAP! rang out, followed by Natalia's outraged cry and a cheer from Alfred. Ludwig, dragging Feliciano with him, moved to stop the oncoming fight.

Honestly, how can so many little kids make such a fuss? Half the time, they were fine, and then, it was as if Ludwig was trying to stop World War Three or something.

As he approached the two boys rolling on the floor (with Ivan trying to pin the boy down with one hand, a pipe from who-knows-where in the other, saying 'That was uncalled for, da~?' and Feliks yelling 'Like hell it was! Get offa me, you oaf!'), Ludwig wondered when the rest of the group would be back.

He hoped it was before all the kids went crazy.

* * *

So! XD this was a random idea that came to me one day. XD yea, so it's confusing, but it's supposed to be. Everything will be explained by the end. XD

To foxyaoi123: taping their mouth shut sounds like a good idea, haha. XD 


	4. Chapter 3

Ludwig really wondered about Feliciano, who appeared to be one of the youngest of all of them, though he was in fact older than Ivan.

Well, maybe the correct word was _worried_.

Every morning, the brunette boy was whimpering, odd names like 'Germany', 'Doitsu', and 'Holy Roman...' escaping his lips. It bugged Ludwig to no end (especially the 'Holy Roman' one), but he let it be.

He had his hands full anyway, trying to keep Ivan and Alfred from killing each other whenever they could, and keep Natalia from trying to destroy their newest addition, and keep Feliks from jumping Ivan randomly, and keep an eye on his irresponsible older brother (he didn't know _how_ he knew Gilbert was irresponsible, when Gilbert barely showed up again, but he just..._knew_), and trying to keep Lovino's irrational hatred towards himself off his mind (which was hard, because the boy was always around, and made his hatred well-known), and-

In other words, Ludwig had far too much to deal with, and was far too busy to pay any attention to Feliciano Vargas. Which, really, was fine...

Until Feliciano started clinging to his leg, crying.

"Doitsu, Doitsu!" He cried. Ludwig sighed through his nose heavily, rubbing his temple.

"Feliciano," Ludwig said calmly, ignoring Alfred's yells for a moment, "_how_ many times must I tell you my name is Ludwig?" Feliciano didn't answer, merely clung to his leg tighter, burying his face in the torn jeans Ludwig wore.

"But-But-But Doitsu is such a _perfect_ name for you, ve~~~?" Feliciano whimpered lightly. "It fits so perfectly..."

"And how do you figure that?" Ludwig asked dryly. Feliciano sniffed, his brow furrowing as he thought up an answer.

"Non lo so, è quello che vi invito nei miei sogni ..." He muttered, more to himself than to Ludwig. Ludwig opened his mouth to tell the boy he didn't understand him when a weight came crashing onto his back, throwing him forward.

"Potato bastard, what did you do to my brother?" Was screeched angrily into his ear, making him wince.

"Ah! Wh-Where did you...?"

"Sorry, West, couldn't keep a hold of him." Gilbert said simply from behind him, munching on a random apple.

"DAMMIT, ALFRED, LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE!"

"CHARGE AT THE CRAZY LADY, FELIKS!"

"THIS IS, LIKE, TOTALLY FOR LIET!" Everyone froze before turning to look at the blonde boy in a skirt. He flushed lightly, holding the severly damaged but still useable sword tightly in his hand. He was looking around, confused. "Uh, what?"

"Who's Liet, Feliks?" Feliciano finally asked. Feliks blinked, then frowned. The sword dropped to the floor.

"You know, Feli?" Feliks said finally. "I, like, totally don't know. At all. Huh..." Ludwig face-palmed angrily, trying to hide his growing annoyance.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Alfred turned, blue eyes lighting up.

"Arthur!" The teenager yelled, dropping his makeshift weapon in favor of launching himself on the heavily accented male.

"Lovi~~~!" Another voice called out. "You still here, querido?" Lovi flushed suddenly.

"There you are, you idiot!" Ludwig noticed how his brother stiffened when Roderich stomped towards him, eyes flashing angrily behind the cracked glasses, ignoring Elizabeta's attempts to calm him down. "Do you even _know_ how much time was spent looking for you, you absolute moron!" As Roderich continued to lecture his brother, Ludwig noted dully the amount of kids that came in after them, yelling names and shrieking in excitement, and sighed heavily, turning to pull Feliciano off of his leg. Almost instantly, someone was tugging at his leg, and he turned, masking his irritation.

"Yes?" He asked softly. The fourteen year old boy rubbed at his eye.

"Did you ever find him?" He asked tearfully. Ludwig frowned, rubbing the back of his head.

"You must be new." Ludwig decided, looking the boy over.

Come to think of it, the boy did look familiar...a bit...well, maybe if Ludwig tilted his head this way...no, hmm...maybe that way...? The boy sighed.

"I'm Matthew!" He said exasperatedly. Ludwig's eyes lit up in recognition. Oh, this was _Alfred's_ brother!

"Right, of course." As Ludwig tried to remember when Alfred had found his brother, he offered Matthew a small smile. "What was I supposed to be looking for?"

"My bear-"

"Ow! Who the hell-"

"BLOODY FROG, KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF!" A loud resounding slap didn't faze anyone, almost as if it came naturally.

In the corner, Yao and Kiku spoke rapidly in their weird way, gesturing calmly and generally ignoring the chaos around them as they spoke.

Someone jumpedon his back again, and arms wrapped in a tight hold around Ludwig's neck.

"Did you know," a twelve year old screamed in his ear, "that everything is made in South Korea?" Ludwig tried in vain to get the kid off, calling for Yao and Kiku to help. Both merely waved at him, continuing their conversation. Behind him, the arguments escalated, with Feliks getting into an argument with Ivan over a short boy with brown hair.

For the first time in almost eight weeks, Ludwig wished the older kids (now adults) weren't back yet, because they all they managed to do was triple the pain in his on-coming headache.

* * *

haha, random time skip, sorry.

anyway, so no one's confused-at the start of the story, the 'Old World' ranged from ten (Gilbert) to thirteen (Yao), and the rest of the kids ranged from about three-four-five ish (Feliciano and Lovino) to seven-eight-nine ish (Ludwig and Kiku).

they're nations, so they grew faster (obviously) so by this point the 'Old World' ranges from eighteen to twenty one, and the younger kids range from eleven to seventeen ish. XD oks, yea. Thanks to those two that reviewed-TheFlyingPotato64 and foxyaoi123. You guys rock.


	5. Chapter 4

It was hard, getting used to the older kids joining them.

Not just because they were gone for so long that none of the younger kids knew how to act around them, but also because the carefully-constructed system Ludwig managed to have them in crumbled almost instantly the first morning.

It started as the kids woke up.

* * *

"Arthur!" Alfred cried, jumping on the other male. "You're really back, you're really back!"

"Of course I'm back, bloody git, I told you I would be, and a-WHERE THE HELL DID YOU COME FROM, DAMN FROG!" The SLAP! startled Feliciano, who woke up instantly and began to cry, making Lovino wake up.

"What the hell is going on?" He snapped, rubbing his eye. Next to him, Antonio yawned.

"Ah, Lovi!" He said sleepily, wrapping his arms around the boy's waist and nuzzling into his stomach. "Good morning, Lovi~~!"

"W-W-WHAT THE HELL?" Lovino yelled, turning bright red. Antonio looked up at him, beaming.

"Lovi, you looked like a tomato~~~!" While Lovino started raining hits on Antonio, he somehow managed to hit Yao's little sister, who started crying. Her crying woke up Yao, who instantly tried to calm her by pulling out snacks from who-knows-where, and Yao's missing brother, Im Yong Soo, who jumped up, fists raised, ready to defend his little sister. As he jumped up, he knocked over Yao, which made him spill his snacks over Ivan, who opened one eye slowly and looked up at Yao.

"That's not very nice, da~~?" He drawled slowly, disentangling himself from Natalia, who woke instantly.

"What's not very nice?" She asked, glaring at Yao suspiciously. "What did you do to big brother, huh?" Yao shook his head, but she ignored him. "What did you do, what'd you do, what'dyoudowhat'dyoudowhat'dyoudoWHAT'DYOUDO?" A terrified expression dominated Yao's face (mostly because he didn't know how to deal with the enraged child) and Im Yong Soo switched from protecting his sister to going face to face with Natalia.

Meanwhile, Feliciano was still crying, though he was now (seemingly) mourning the loss of pasta (just where the he'll were they supposed to get pasta anyway?)

Fed up, and annoyed that the order of things was disturbed, Ludwig placed his fingers in his mouth and whistled, loud enough that it cut through everyone's...conversations...and made them turn to him.

"ENOUGH!" He yelled. "We're not supposed to be arguing with each other, or fighting with each other." He snapped. "We still need to see if we're missing people, and if we could find them anywhere. This is not the time to be screwing around!"

It was silent, everyone frozen, until a single hand in the far back went up. Feeling an odd sense of deja vu (and that he was going to regret this), he placed his fingers on the bridge of his nose.

"Yes, Feliciano." He said, resignation in his voice. "You may speak." Feliciano tilted his head, looking uncharacteristically serious, before a smile broke out on his face.

"PAASTAA~~~~!" He cried happily.

Ludwig groaned.

* * *

"Ne, ne, Doitsu?" Ludwig sighed, turning to face the brown haired boy tugging on his arm. He didn't have the patience for this.

Actually, he didn't have a lot of energy at the moment. There was a strange ache, around his stomach area on his left side, like something was missing from there. He tried asking his brother about it, but Gilbert said it was feeling odd for him as well, but for him it was more like space was being taken up.

It was very strange, but no one had an explination for them.

"Yes, Feliciano?" He questioned tiredly, looking down at the boy. Feliciano frowned.

"Doitsu, why do we have so many different languages?" When Ludwig raised an eyebrow, Feliciano started explaining. "Like, like me and my brother...and Antonio...and Kiku?" When Ludwig opened his mouth to answer with some random thing that would probably have made no sense, Feliciano continued. "And-And-And-And why..." He gulped lightly and continued. "Why would Alfred..." He stopped, clearly disturbed in some way. Ludwig sighed, prompting Feliciano to continue. "Alfred keeps arguing with Arthur about some-some war..." Ludwig sighed.

"It's probably nothing, Feliciano." Feliciano's brows furrowed.

"But, Alfred keeps saying that he's not a child and other things..." He sniffed lightly. "And Alfred says that he's been taking care of himself for centuries without England's help."

That caught Ludwig's attention, enough to make him actually look at Feliciano and ignore the parts of him that felt something was missing.

"Who's England?" He asked. Feliciano shrugged helplessly, tears filling up. Confused, Ludwig listened, and heard Arthur and Alfred yelling at each other. He sighed. "Don't worry about it, Feliciano," Ludwig said, rubbing his hair (and ignoring the boy's flushed face when he trailed his fingers over that stupid random curl), "Alfred and Arthur always make up quickly." Feliciano nodded, his breathing slightly heavy, before being yanked back suddenly by his brother.

"Stupid, perverted kraut!" He snapped. "Stay away from my brother!"

Ludwig watched them walk away, completely confused.

* * *

Ludwig lay in bed, curled up on his side and holding his stomach gingerly. The empty space was still there-it didn't seem to be getting bigger, but it didn't seem like it was about to leave any time soon, either. Completely confused but knowing that not even the older kids had answers for him, Ludwig moved to turn around-

And froze when he felt someone in bed next to him.

Trying to keep a straight face, Ludwig turned around slowly, feeling the one behind him shift slightly with a muttered 'veeeee~~'.

The soft noise tipped him off, though, and Ludwig sighed, laying back down. Asleep, Feliciano couldn't do much (but then again, the boy didn't seem capable of doing much while he was awake), and Ludwig didn't feel like facing the tears he was sure would come if he tried to kick the younger boy out of his bed.

Instead, Ludwig gazed at the far wall, the one with all the flags on it.

One by one, he took in all the flags, unsure of what they represented but sure that whatever it was, it was important. The varied colors startled him slightly, until one seemed to just...jump out at him.

It was a simple flag, yellow and red and black strips sewn together, three strong colors in three big strips, but the sight of it made him stand up and approach it. He touched it softly, feeling the material under his hand, and took a breath softly.

"Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit..." He started softly, eyes slipping closed. "für das deutsche Vaterland! Danach lasst uns alle streben...Brüderlich mit Herz und Hand!" He frowned lightly as the words seemed to come with no thought, though he had no idea what they were, and what they meant made little to no sense to him. "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit... Sind des Glückes Unterpfand; Blüh' im Glanze dieses Glückes... Blühe, deutsches Vaterland..." He trailed off, just as quietly as he started, and for a few moments there was silence.

"What was that, Ludwig?" The blonde boy whirled around to face a sleepy looking Feliciano. The small brunette yawned and rubbed his eyes as he moved to stand beside Ludwig. "What you were singing-it sounded important." Ludwig shrugged, returning his attention to the flag before him.

"I don't know, Feliciano." He said softly. Feliciano gazed at all the flags in slight awe.

"Ve~~~~" He murmured softly. "There are so many..." Ludwig didn't say anything, and Feliciano took it as an invitation to continue. "Hey, Ludwig, is this one yours?" Ludwig looked at him, but Feliciano was already talking. "Mine is this one," he said, touching a flag that resembled Ludwig's, only with red, green, and white. "It belongs to me and my brother."

"You shouldn't claim things that don't belong to you, Feliciano." Ludwig sighed, releasing the flag and pulling the younger male away from the wall.

"I'm not!" Feliciano argued back. "That one is the one that calls to me, and to Lovino, too! That one you touched-didn't it call out to you? Something made it feel like it was yours, right? Right?" Ludwig flushed lightly, coughing into his hand.

"That doesn't mean they're ours, Feliciano." He said patiently.

"But-!" Feliciano cut himself off, looking deep in thought. "You know how Doitsu was saying that he feels funny?" Ludwig looked at Feliciano again and the younger boy smiled at him. "Me and fratello, we feel strange too. But not like something's missing-more like it's being put back together." He tilted his head to the side, examining Ludwig's reaction. "Is that strange?"

"I..." Ludwig trailed off, looking over the group of people they were with. "I'm not sure, Feliciano."

"I think it's cause we're all special." Feliciano said, getting sleepy again as he placed himself in Ludwig's bed again. Flushing furiously, but not feeling up to an argument, Ludwig followed suit.

"Special how?" He asked softly.

"I dunno." Feliciano slurred back, already half-asleep. "Just...special, in some way."

* * *

_Unity and law and freedom...For the German Fatherland! Let us all strive for that...In brotherhood with heart and hand! Unity and law and freedom Are the foundation for happiness; Bloom in the glow of happiness...Bloom, German Fatherland._

hey it's what I found when I looked up the German national anthem, so...

anyway, I completely forgot about this story. I had always meant to re-update chapter five, since it somehow got screwed up, but then the whole story fell completely out of my mind. I apologize to those of you who had reviewed and favorited and all that. Thank you for your patience, happy new years, and I hope you enjoyed. 


	6. Chapter 5

"Ohmygod, like, Liet!" Feliks rushed towards the entrance of their shelter as three boys stumbled in, two carrying an unconscious one. Feliks ignored the two and grabbed the hand of the unconscious one, holding his hand tightly. "Liet, Liet, wake up!"

"He doesn't seem to want to." One of the boys replied, struggling to hold Feliks' 'Liet' and fix his cracked glasses at the same time. "I'm Eduard."

"A-a-a-and I'm R-R-R-Ravis." A smaller boy piped up from next to Eduard. "A-A-And his name is Toris, b-b-but he won't wake up." Ravis stopped talking, but he seemed nervous and wouldn't stop glancing around. When his eyes fell on Ivan, he squeaked and tried to jump (he couldn't because he was still holding Toris), trying to make himself as small as possible.

Feliks ignored them both.

"Liet? Liet, what's wrong?" After a few seconds, Feliks stood up. "To my bed!" He declared. "Liet needs to be comfortable! C'mon, follow me." With a slight roll of his eyes, Eduard began to follow Feliks, bringing Ravis with him.

Ludwig followed them, partly to make sure Feliks didn't go overboard, partly to make sure that the unconscious child was ok, but mostly to figure out how they found them.

"We just walked." The boy with glasses-Eduard-called softly, almost as though he knew what was running through the blonde's mind. "Toris, when he was awake, he was worried about someone. He wasn't well, but he wanted to be with this person...he passed out a couple days ago, and he hasn't woken up since."

"How did you know to come here?" Ludwig asked. Eduard sent him a wry smile.

"This place..." He frowned slightly, adjusting the broken glasses again. "There's something...familiar about it. That's the best I can explain it."

Ludwig thought it over, then let it go with a slight nod- - -they all felt as though the building was familiar, so anyone else who did was welcomed in, in hopes that one of them knew who they really were.

* * *

_He was in a room, and there were a huge group of people. At a tall desk, one man sat, glaring down at the whole room with disapproval._

Beside him were two people: the Asian boy who resembled Kiku, the one called 'Japan', on his left. To his right, subdued and more beaten up (or maybe it was just more noticeable on him, because he was so much paler then they were), someone who resembled Gilbert.

"The court will come to order." The person at the tall desk (the judge, Ludwig realized, but why was he on trial?) commanded. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a group of people sitting together.

Alfred, looking unusually somber and glaring hatefully at him; Arthur, injured so much worse than him or his brother but still there, despite looking like he was about to pass out; Ivan, looking colder yet happier than Ludwig could ever remember him being. Beside him was Yao, a tired look on his face that made him look older than he was, keeping Ivan in check with a hand on his shoulder.

Feliciano, who was crying quietly a few feet away from the group. He was older, yes, and had his face hidden away, but Ludwig was sure if he looked his way he would instantly recognize Feliciano's brown eyes, his eager face and bright smile.

A nudge to his arm brought his attention forward, just as the judge finished talking and Ludwig realized with a start that he had no idea what was happening as he, 'Japan', and his brother were forced up (none too gently) and pushed into another, smaller room.

The whole group followed them, and Alfred shut the door firmly behind him.

"Your people will be tried for their crimes." He started, hands flat on the table in front of Ludwig. "They'll most likely be put to death for their crimes. Our main concern is what to do with you."

In the background, Feliciano began crying a bit harder.

"Give one to me, da~~~~?" Ivan drawled, a happy, almost carefree smile on his face that did nothing to hide the cold glare in his eyes or the dark aura around him. "I'd be happy to have another stay with me-my comrades won't mind, either..."

Alfred bit his lip, glaring slightly at him out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm sure your comrades won't mind," he said carefully through clenched teeth. "Actually, I believe my boss discussed this with yours a few days ago-Prussia is to go with you." Looking slightly disappointed, Ivan grinned again.

"Ah, is ok~~~!" He sang out slightly. "We'll have tons of fun." Ivan's eyes narrowed at Gilbert. "Right...?"

"Japan." Alfred called out, pushing Ivan to the side. "We have to discuss the war."

"My answer is no." 'Japan' stood up, bowing slightly. "My apologies, but I did not come here to discuss negotiations, America-san." Alfred's lookalike 'America' stared at him with wide eyes. 'Japan' bowed again and left, slamming-

"Doitsu, Doitsu!" Ludwig woke up with a jolt, sitting up and reaching around wildly before smooth hands grabbed his and he calmed down enough to see Feliciano in front of him. He blinked slowly, then rubbed his eyes, trying to wake himself up fully, wondering vaguely if the dream was a mixture of a memory and something he had created to make it slightly more bearable or if it was a group of random images.

That was when he finally heard the frantic cries from across the hall.

"You _asshole_!" Feliks was screaming at Ivan, trying to get at the taller male. Tears were pouring down his face, but he ignored them in favor of fighting, as hard as he could, against the people holding him back.

Eduard stood behind the enraged blonde, hands on his arms as he struggled to hold him back. Alfred was between Ivan and Feliks, trying to keep the two apart. Ravis was on the bed, shaking and crying, looking as though he wanted to help but was unsure of what to do.

"This is _your_ fault!" Feliks screamed, fighting harder and hitting Eduard in the face with his elbow. "_WHERE THE HELL IS HE, YOU DEMENTED **FREAK**_?"

"ENOUGH!" Ludwig roared from his side of the room, pushing Feliciano aside to walk towards the fighting group. They froze, everyone turning to look at Ludwig as he approached.

Tears were still falling down Feliks' face. He hiccuped a bit as Eduard released one of his arms in attempt to push up the glasses that had broken completely when Feliks hit him. Alfred was looking at him with an expression that was torn between relief and frustration.

"What is going on over here?" Ludwig asked calmly, feeling something resembling a headache come on. For a few minutes, no one seemed to know what to say.

"Liet's gone!" Feliks wailed finally, startling Eduard as the blonde just collapsed in his arms. "When I woke up this morning, he was gone!"

"Where?" Alfred asked, frustration evident in his voice. "Where could he have gone? He wasn't even awake!"

"That jerk has him!" Feliks cried, pointing at Ivan. "He's always wanted him!" Ludwig sighed again as the headache worsened, making his head pound.

"Feliks..." He started, gaining the other blonde's attention. "Calm down. Let's not accuse anybody of anything for the moment." A broken cry escaped Feliks even as he rubbed at his eyes furiously. Eduard, not really knowing what to do, lead Feliks to the bed he and Ravis had been sharing. Ravis had stopped crying, though his shaking was still there, and together they tried to stop Feliks from crying.

"He's only been here two or three days." Feliks sniffled softly, tears still falling but not as fast. "He was getting better, I _know_ it..."

Ludwig turned his attention to Ivan., who had a blank expression on his face.

"Ivan..." He started, but he was cut off by a cold glare.

"Nyet." Ivan said calmly, coldly, and before Ludwig could ask what the taller meant Ivan had turned, muttering to himself in a strange language and brushing Natalia's hand off his arm.

Not completely sure that the fighting stopped, or that he even did the right thing, Ludwig turned to Alfred. Just as he did, his headache worsened, making spots appear in his vision.

"You ok?" He heard Alfred ask, but it sounded distant...almost like the boy was much much farther away than his actual distance of three feet. "Ludwig, you don't look that great. Hello?"

Ludwig covered his eyes with his hand, willing the spots in his eyes to go away.

They went away-but Ludwig was hit with sensations without warning. Pain ripped through his body, excruciating pain that came from nowhere. He saw flashes of fighting, with guns and bombs, people rushing forward only to be bombarded with bullets. He saw camps full of starving people, women silently shedding tears for their lost children, brothers, husbands, children crying frantically for siblings and parents, men looking defeated and lost but still holding their heads high. He saw disapproving stares from his peers, sadistically excited looks from a man clearly important but whose name eluded the blonde, proud glances from the pale man who resembled his brother.

He heard cries, from inside his mind and in the present. Voices overlapping as they asked if he was ok, some calling for Gilbert, others shouting orders and talking about plans for the future, his own scolding and authoritive. Still more were crying for help, for freedom, for food and clothes and _show mercy, good sir, my store is the only source of income for us and we just had a baby_, the sounds of breaking glass and burning buildings, gunshots and women screaming, children crying, men fighting and grunting in pain- - -

It was too much, and Ludwig couldn't handle it. The last thing he saw before complete darkness was Feliciano's worried face. 


	7. Chapter 6

_He was trying to teach 'Italy' to throw grenades, but he pulled the pin and didn't throw it, forcing him to run after the oblivious 'Italy'-_

Sitting at his desk, trying to get paperwork done, and the phone rings. For a few moments, he just stares at it-dread filling his body at answering the phone but knowing he had to answer it no matter what. He picks it up and-

"Doitsu, Doitsu!"

On the beach with 'Japan' and 'Italy'. 'Italy' is playing happily in the waves. 'Japan' comes up from behind him, as he draws world relations in the sand.

Leading troops of men against a slightly smaller army.

"Capture France!" Is heard, and it's coming from **him**, but who's 'France'...?

Being captured by 'England' and 'America', refusing to give up the fight even though he knows in the next room 'Italy' is telling them everything from his life story to the very moment of being captured by the enemy.

Trying to force a strange old man out of his room, a 'Roman Empire' who has come to check on his 'favorite grandson', even though 'Italy' is asleep and there's no hope of waking him up. He gives him advice about getting women and talks about the time he did xxx and xxx with xxx, and even xxx!

He was mortified that the man spoke so easily, but before he could say anything else the man turns to him, suddenly serious.

"You're such a good friend to my grandson, my little Feliciano," He says, placing a hand on his shoulder, and suddenly he's Ludwig again, sitting with this strange man on his bed in the familiar-yet-unfamiliar room. "I always knew he'd be in the right hands if he was with you."

"What?" He shakes his head, this 'Roman Empire', and continues as if Ludwig hasn't even spoken.

"I'll let you in on a little secret. Everyone is busy, trying to recover from the whole thing, trying to rebuild their country, their world. Things will be different, and some of your number will have to disappear, and others will suddenly appear, but it's all for the better. Trust that, and the world will turn out fine."

"What are you talking about?" Ludwig asks, but the man is gone before the first word leaves his mouth.

* * *

When Ludwig woke later, it was to discover he was covered with...something, and Feliciano crying (he had been able to hear the boy cry enough to know who it was when there were tears being shed anywhere). Groaning slightly, he sat up slowly. The empty part in his side protested, making him wince slightly, but he otherwise ignored it in favor of opening his eyes.

Feliciano sat next to him, bawling loudly about '_Grandpa Rome_' and being generally inconsolable. Gilbert was next to Feliciano, biting his lip worriedly and ignoring Roderich's hand on his arm (rather pointedly, Ludwig might add-almost as if he was purposely avoiding the brunette's gaze). Lovino was on Feliciano's other side, trying (and failing) to calm his younger brother down.

"_I-Italia..._" Ludwig coughed harshly, and everyone instantly turned to him. "What happened?"

"You've been out of it for at least a day and a half." Gilbert said, but it was all he got out because of Feliciano's sudden turnabout.

"Doitsu!" He cried out, tears still falling from his eyes even as a relieved, if not happy, expression took over the look of distraught which had been on his face a few seconds prior. Before Ludwig could respond, Feliciano threw his arms around his neck, nearly knocking them over again.

"F-Feliciano..." Ludwig stammered, his face going bright red. A thought quickly flitted through his mind-_I should find a book on...whatever this is...yes, there has to be a book about this somewhere..._-and he just barely managed to throw out an arm to catch them before they fell. Feliciano didn't seem to notice, merely babbled on and on about something-Ludwig stopped listening when Gilbert waved someone over, still pointedly ignoring Roderich's gaze.

Yao came into view, Kiku following him. Ludwig looked curiously at them both before turning to Gilbert.

"Bruder...?" He questioned softly. Gilbert smiled impishly at him, but it didn't seem to reach his crimson eyes.

"Yao came up with this kick-ass theory about us, West." Gilbert said. His voice trembled slightly, despite the overly-jaunty tone of 'what-do-you-mean-what's-wrong-nothing's-wrong-it's-all-in-your-head-pleasant-day-isn't-it?', and Roderich's hold on Gilbert's arm tightened. With some difficulty, Gilbert managed to pull it away without making it look like he was yanking it out of the brunette's hand. "Now, he says it won't work on us-too many damn things, something about us knowing more or being older or some shit like that. But, since you're younger..."

"It should work on you, aru." Yao smiled gently at Ludwig and moved to lay him down again. "You may feel some pain, aru. Don't fret too much about it, it won't last. And if it gets too uncomfortable, I'll stop, ok, aru?" Ludwig nodded slowly, looking at Kiku. The boy smiled slightly at him.

"Take care, Ludwig-san." He said softly. "I pray that all goes well, for if it does then I shall be next." Ludwig nodded once at him before turning to Feliciano, who smiled brightly.

"Me too, me too!" He chirped happily. "But I'll be sad if Ludwig gets hurt, so don't let it hurt too badly, Doitsu!" Ludwig raised an eyebrow but nodded once. He glanced at Gilbert, who hastily put on what was quickly becoming his trademark smirk, but Ludwig could still see the worry in his eyes.

"I'm ready." He said strongly, keeping his eyes locked on Gilbert's even after Yao acknowledged him. Hoping that the determination he was feeling got through to his brother, Ludwig closed his eyes when Yao told him to.

For a moment, there was nothing, just some muffled noises as things were placed, last minute, into place. A heavy piece of material was placed on him-Ludwig recognized it as a flag from the wall (probably the red, black, and yellow one). Soft hands touched his face briefly, tracing his forehead and cheeks with cold fingers. They left a trail on their wake, and Ludwig sighed inaudibly.

Another pair of hands, these more warm and feeling rougher than the first, were placed at his temples. He felt warm breath on his face as something touched his forehead again.

"Keep silent, aru," Yao whispered. Before Ludwig could say anything, or make any sort of appropriate gesture, Yao was speaking again, quickly and fluently in a strange language that made his nerves feel weird.

Yao's voice began to get louder, attracting the attention of everyone in the room. Ludwig felt red creep up his face as everyone's daily fights and conversations were silenced by what they were doing. Yao, however, had no such qualms about it. His voice rose almost steadily, and Ludwig could practically feel the power and concentration that rolled off of the older boy in waves.

Then, quite suddenly, pain shot through his entire body. It took a good amount of willpower to keep silent as Yao told him to. Pain raked through him harshly, making his fingers twitch and his wholebody shake. Ludwig could hear Gilbert, yelling for Yao to stop; Feliciano, crying hysterically; Kiku's calm voice trying to soothe everyone; Yao's strong voice still chanting, his hands tracing the same patterns on Ludwig's face.

Just as suddenly, the pain stopped. An image came, unbidden, and as clear as if he had been placed in this specific spot for a reason, to his mind: a bloody battlefield, flames nearby still burning strong, bodies littered around him. He, himself, covered in blood and mud and just..._filth_, looking around with blue eyes, terrified. A tall man, just as bloodied, just as filthy, approached slowly. He had blue eyes filled with haunting and sorrow, filled with regret and a sense of feeling old; blonde hair that had once been pulled back, but was now hanging freely around his face, matted with tangles and unclean.

"My apologies," he said, and his voice echoed throughout Ludwig's mind as his gaze directed upwards. "Allow me to do you this one favor, Holy Roman Empire, and place this child under the care of someone who would watch him better than any of us could. Please understand- - -while he should go to Roderich, I feel it best if we don't stick this one together with Little Feliciano just yet..." Before Ludwig could comprehend the cryptic statement, the blonde looked at him again. "Hello, mon ami." Ludwig felt himself shy away instinctively, despite the armor he wore and the sword by his side. The man laughed and held hs hand out. "I won't hurt you, promise. I'm just going to help you."

"Help me where?" He asked suspiciously. Something told him to be wary of this man- - -boy, actually. He looked no older than seventeen, eighteen at the most. The other laughed, though there was no mirth in it and he still had that haunted, sorrowful, regretful gaze in his eyes.

"To someone better equipped to raise you than myself." He said simply, hand still outstretched. Ludwig backed away more, glaring even more distrustfully.

"Bring him here yourself," He started, but he was cut off by a look of horror on the other's face, the man-child-boy paling underneath the mud-filth-blood on his face as he shouted out an order in some strange language; as he did, something heavy collided with his skull and Ludwig dropped like a stone, blackness overcoming him.

He sat suddenly, looking around the room and his hand twitching for his sword.

"Ah, I see you're up." Ludwig lurched to the side, eyes meeting the crimson ones of the person next to him. The person smirked and stood, poking his head slightly. "You took quite a hit- - - Francis was worried that his second in command hit you too hard and killed you as well." Quite unexpectedly, the other grabbed Ludwig's face and began tilting his head in every angle possible. "So, you're him, huh? Kinda look like him; I take that back, you look a lot like him. What's your name, kid?"

"I- - -" Ludwig though hard and shrugged half-heatedly. The crimson eyed boy hit his shoulder, making him yelp.

"Rule number one," He said firmly, crimson eyes blazing. "is that you answer every question given to you verbally- - -none of this half-assed shit you just pulled. Got it?" Ludwig could only nod, eyes wide.

"Yes!" He squeaked.

"Rule number two- - -address your elders and higher ups with respect." He stood fully and crossed his arms. "That means adding 'sir', 'madam', 'miss', whatever the situation calls for."

"Yes sir!" Ludwig said, firmly this time and without the embarrassing squeak.

"I'm Gilbert." Ludwig realized that this person was no older than the one whom he spoke with at the battlefield, despite being significantly cleaner. He was paler than pale, and had silver hair that fell slightly into his eyes. "And you are now Ludwig, the personified country of Germany."

* * *

Hey, guys! Sorry for bring away so long; I had no idea how to do this chapter. It seems that this story has gotten out of my control completely. Anyway, to clear something I feel will be questioned by someone:

Gilbert asks him what his name was, and he more-or-less said he didn't know/wasn't sure. I used his name in order to separate him slightly from the other two, but he didn't know his own name- - -sort of like he was being reborn via memory. Basically. I dunno; it made sense to me, but maybe I'm just horrible at explaining things? XD 


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